The Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organization (ADDRO) is to train about 280 volunteers to take up the distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLINS) in two districts in the Upper East Region.
The Organization is implementing a malaria free programme funded by the American government under its President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) in the region.
The 280 volunteers is the first phase of the training and part of 1,000 volunteers targeted for training under the programme.
Under the MCP, ADDRO received funds through the Episcopal Relief Development (ERD), an American Church based charity organization, which is the main agent on the programme to undertake community durbars to sensitize the communities about malaria.
It will adopt a new strategy known as "hang up" where community volunteers would move into households to hang Long Lasting Insecticide Nets
(LLINS) in beneficiaries' rooms to encourage community members to continue to use the nets.
ADDRO is to engage about 1,000 volunteers from communities who would help educate their community members on malaria. The four-day workshop has already been organized in the Garu-Tempane District while it is underway in
the Bawku West District.
Even though thousands of bed nets have gone into communities under various programmes, net usage generally is low. In view of this attitude
towards net use, ADDRO is determined to encourage community members to use LLINS throughout the year by adopting effective and workable strategies to improve net use.
The program is expected to cover 139,837 people, including 24,967 children under five (CU5), 6,991 pregnant women and 33,561 women of
reproductive age for the next three years.
NetsforLife and ADDRO would build on and expand their current work by undertaking malaria control and prevention activities in the Bawku West and Garu-Tempane districts during the greater part of the year.